


alway something new

by elsandry



Category: Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters (2013)
Genre: Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Pre-Slash, magical painkillers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-18
Updated: 2016-12-18
Packaged: 2018-09-09 12:00:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,318
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8890015
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/elsandry/pseuds/elsandry
Summary: Getting up close and personal with a witch: not a good idea.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [csi_sanders1129](https://archiveofourown.org/users/csi_sanders1129/gifts).



She was the third witch Ben had seen since Muriel had died and he'd left Augsberg. Ben had been training with Hansel and Gretel for the few months they'd been traveling together. He was slowly figuring out where he fit in with them, and while he worked on that, they were happy to have his gun backing them up. Ben knew that both of them would say he was far from ready to face a witch up close. 

But Gretel was scrambling to find a weapon, Edward was fighting the witch's creatures off in the distance, and Hansel had been sent flying into the trees and didn't seem to be moving very fast. Ben didn't think about what he was doing when he ran forward, knife in hand, and threw it at the witch. 

It hit the witch in the shoulder, hilt first, and fell to the forest floor. 

The witch gave him a surprisingly normal look of disdain and turned towards Gretel. Ben pulled his other knife and leaped on her. This one hit home. The witch shrieked, blood flowed, and Ben felt his grip slip. He stabbed wildly, hitting her at least some of the time, until she managed to shake him off. 

That was when Hansel stumbled forward, gun held awkwardly in his left hand, and shot her in the face. 

Ben scrambled to his feet. The witch wasn't moving, but he held his knife ready. Gretel had found her crossbow and had it aimed at the witch. Ben didn't let his guard down until Hansel and Gretel had both shot the witch, getting no further reaction. He realized that his hand was cramping, and he was splattered with a great deal of blood. 

After checking on Gretel, Hansel frowned at him. "Is any of that your blood?" 

Ben checked himself over. The witch had knocked him on his ass with frightening ease, but he was unhurt, except for possibly a bruise that he wasn't going to discuss. "I'm fine," he said, not liking how surprised he sounded. 

"Good," Hansel said, and very suddenly sat down. Ben was certain he sat down, not collapsed, because he wouldn't know how to respond if that happened. 

He and Gretel hurried forward. Gretel crouched down in front of Hansel, and Ben heard him mutter something about his shoulder. They spoke quietly for a few minutes, while Gretel poked at Hansel's arm, and Ben stood nearby feeling useless. 

After a moment Gretel announced that Hansel's should was dislocated, and that fixing it could wait until they weren't sharing a clearing with a witch's corpse. Edward reappeared while they were gathering up their fallen weapons. 

When they staggered off together, Ben found himself wondering just how many witches they'd left unburied. The worst witches were had soaked in so much dark magic that they had to contaminate the area as they rotted. Burying them wouldn't help much, so maybe it wasn't just fear that had led people to burn witches. Ben made a mental note to consult the grimoire later. 

That line of thought was abandoned as they returned to their earlier campsite, fortunately untouched by the witch or her creations. Hansel sat down on a log they had pulled up earlier with a groan. 

"Ben, stay close," Gretel said. "I've done this before, but it will be easier with a second set of hands." 

Ben's startled "What?" was ignored. Gretel began tugging at Hansel's leathers, and Ben realized why she wanted his help. It wasn't easy to undress someone who couldn't move his arm. When they had pulled off the stiff outer layer of Hansel's leathers, Ben could see the way Hansel's shoulder was completely wrong in it's shape. "Oh, God," Ben said. Somehow this was more disgusting than the blood and gore he'd seen while traveling with them. 

"Hold him steady," Gretel said. Ben did as she said. It had been one of the first things he'd learned, traveling with them. If Hansel or Gretel outright gave him an order, it was best to obey and ask why later. Gretel took Hansel's arm and pulled. She made it look simple, but there was a grinding noise that made Ben cringe which suggested it wasn't simple at all. With a final horrible sound, Hansel's shoulder returned to normal. 

"That's disgusting," Ben said. 

"Don't puke on me, kid," Hansel replied, and if he was joking, he had to be alright. 

"It really is disgusting," Gretel said. "Don't make me do it again tonight." 

Hansel's arm was put right, but he was holding it very still, clearly in pain. Ben realized he still had his hands on Hansel's shoulders and backed away. 

"I'll make you wear the sling," Gretel said. 

"I'm behaving. Look at me, I'm behaving." 

It was going to be one of those nights, then. Hansel and Gretel had only had each other for so long, and their supply of inside jokes seemed endless. 

Ben found himself with an armful of Hansel's various weapons, with orders from Gretel to not let Hansel attempt to clean them with his bad arm. Cleaning them himself was easy enough, but the way Hansel watched him, protective of his toys, was unsettling. 

"Good job getting the witch to lower her guard," Hansel said. 

Ben remembered the way the knife had hit, hilt first, and wanted to sink into the ground. "It was an accident," he said. "I was aiming for her throat." 

Hansel smirked. "It worked, didn't it? She underestimated you, now she's dead. Don't argue with the results." 

Gretel returned, cradling the grimoire. She had been practicing, sometimes with Ben's help. She had seen countless witches in action, but Ben had read everything he could find on the subject. Sometimes it took both of them working together to make sense of the grimoire's obscure text. 

This was, Gretel had decided, as good a time as any to test out the healing spell she'd been practicing. If it failed, it wasn't a life-threatening mishap, and if it succeeded, it would get them back on the road that much faster. 

Ben watched, fascinated, as Gretel made her preparations. She looked uncertain even when she started. Hansel, trusting her completely, seemed unconcerned. 

Ben could see the exact moment the spell took effect. Hansel relaxed, and kept relaxing until Ben thought he might slide off his log. "I, uh, I think it did something." 

" _Yeah_ it did," Hansel mumbled. Gretel almost dropped the grimoire as she grabbed a handful of his shirt, keeping him upright. 

"I might have overdid it." 

Ben told himself not to laugh. It wasn't that funny. Hansel leaned against Gretel, looking for all the world like he'd had a few too many at a tavern. "It worked," Ben told her. "Don't argue with the results." 

Hansel started laughing, and Gretel gave them both the look she usually reserved for Ben when his questions had crossed over into annoying. "Help me get him on the ground. He's going to have to sleep this off before we can go anywhere." 

"You've seen this before?" 

"In a way. Hansel and I avoid laudanum or anything like it, but this spell must have similar effects." Ben understood. Better that they were in pain and still able to fight than like this. 

When they settled Hansel onto his bedroll, Hansel did his best to pull them down next to him. Ben flailed against his grip. "Go along with it," Gretel said. "He won't settle down until he know we're both safe." 

When he did as she said, Hansel soon fell asleep. Ben thought it over and grinned. Hansel had checked him for injuries, and he wanted Ben there as much as he did Gretel. Tomorrow, when Hansel was feeling better, they were going to talk. If the talk went the way Ben thought it would, Gretel would tease them both forever, and Ben wouldn't mind at all.


End file.
